Unless
you've been living alone on an isolated island in
the South Pacific for the past 70 years, preparing
to single-handedly repel the inevitable imperialist
assault on your idyllic outpost, then you know that
comic conventions have become big business in America,
pumping millions if not billions of dollars into
the economy and giving legions of geeks and nerds
reason to live.

I like to believe that Leonard Nimoy was largely responsible for their
current popularity.

It's hard to dispute the idea that Nimoy's Spock was the heart and soul
of Star Trek. Except for those weird pon farr episodes our favorite green-blooded
hobgoblin was the dependable anchor about which the fantastical plotlines
revolved weekly. Without his gravitas, and an eyebrow that could speak
volumes, Star Trek would have been a confection rather than a banquet.
It would have been lost in space, if you know what I mean. In fact, I'd
go so far as to say Star Trek without Spock wouldn't have lasted a full
season.

As a result of the program's popularity, especially in syndication, comic
and sci-fi conventions suddenly had bankable superstars to broaden their
attendance, providing a reliable forum for an audience eager to seek,
popularize, or outright invent whole new genre's of pop-culture.

So thanks Mr. Nimoy, for cosplay and filking, furries and steampunk,
slave Leia group photos and sexy Pikachus, anime and dakimakura, swag
and hover-hands, panel discussions and game-rooms full of reeking neckbeards...

But mostly for "Live long and prosper."

Because you will always be our friend.

=Lefty=

Google Chow
(Eat hearty, little Google-bots!)

Mommy! Look at those two men!
thinks: Oh, god.
I never seen men do THAT before.
Don't stare, Billy.
Is there something wrong with them, Mommy?
They're... special, Billy.
Wow. Will I be special someday, too?
Let's go, Billy!
Two open carry cretins carrying guns.